Janet Elkins Reports: The Event Industry Is Truly Global. Please Meet Lola Olukuewu from Always On Point, Lagos, Nigeria

Lola Olukuewu and Janet Elkins

The best aspect of event industry conferences: definitely the chance to make new friends and broaden our horizons.

Janet: "We loved The Special Event 2019 in San Diego last month. I always enjoy meeting longtime friends and colleagues and learning about new trends. Over the years TSE has truly become an international event. I have met Eastern European event producers in the past. This year I met Lola Olukuewu, Managing Director, for Always On Point in Lagos, Nigeria.
Learning how much we have in common across cultural and geographic borders was fascinating to me. Thanks to Internet and social media the world has become a small place, indeed."

EW: Could we talk about the event industry in Nigeria?

Lola Olukuewu: 

The Event Industry in Nigeria is at an all time high in creativity, innovation, professionalism, and exposure.

Just like agriculture and technology, the event industry in Nigeria has evolved in the last couple of years, and is now better recognised by clients and other industries as a respectable profession, worthy of attention. It has also become a primary source of income and sustenance for both the new comer and the experienced hand in the industry, thereby making its relevance far reaching and its impact, formidable. The events industry generates a notable volume to our national GDP and industry players are increasing by the day.

Individuals and corporate bodies are increasingly seeking out Event Professionals to handle their events, while they focus on delivering substantial value and experience on their event objectives, to their attendees or guests. The bar keeps getting raised with each event, and originality sometimes gets so hyped that it trends online. Our Nigerian weddings have become very popular in these parts, with some of our traditions and decor ideas being adapted in neighbouring countries, and other parts of the world. Nigerians living in diaspora have also kept with the times by adapting many of these trends, to their weddings wherever they are based, in the world. The corporate space has seen many companies listen more to the advise of Event Professionals on themes, space design, functionality, and recommendations for their events. It has been very interesting watching and experiencing this inspiring growth in Nigeria.

EW: What services does Always On Point offer?

Lola: "At Always On Point Nigeria, we produce corporate events, from conception to execution stage. These include product launches, conferences, tech community events, corporate parties, and many others. We focus on the clients' pain points and event objectives and try to create a memorable experience for all stakeholders and their attendees, and this has brought us so many great reviews and referrals. We are privileged to have handled quite a lot of C-Level events and also major 'sector-defining' events in Africa. Some examples among many are Women Techmakers 2017, which is one of the biggest women in technology conferences, DevFest Lagos 2018, the biggest developer community in Africa gathering yet.

We also print corporate souvenirs as marketing materials and as event souvenirs. Over the years, clients have preferred to deal with us for crisply branded, high quality promotional materials, either in medium or bulk quantities. The other thing we do, more as a passion and a way of giving back, is to train young entrepreneurs and professionals in soft skills. We are a vibrant and creative team, seeking to constantly raise the bar, with our work."

EW: What design and event trends do you observe?

Lola: "The major event trends I have observed in the Nigerian event space are the focus on excellence in attention to the details, the increased drive to push boundaries and inspire originality, and the closing gap between Nigerian standards and international standards. Events are also now more marketed and showcased predominantly on Instagram and Facebook, which has made the industry even more attractive. For design trends, I have observed that there is more creativity around the use of lights as decor and interactive gadgets to design venues and guests. Now we have lesser drapes, many more local elements, and also rustic and floral room ambiance, and modern international furniture designs are prevalent."

EW: Have you had a chance to draw international comparisons?

Lola: "Oh yes, I have. As a matter of fact, I constantly juxtapose the way we operate in Nigeria with what the international best practices and standards are. I believe this helps any business owner to constantly improve. To be honest, Nigeria is not too far behind in event or space design and even in the event experiences we create. In very recent times, we have accelerated the growth. I believe we will fair well if some of our event pictures are placed side by side those from top countries in this sector. We are however, constantly catching up and evolving, with respect to some of the tools and methods we use in printing and design for instance, but I believe once we totally phase out dated tools in the not too distant future, there would be nothing left to compare."

EW: Was this your first attendance at TSE and what motivated you to make the long trip to San Diego?

Lola: "Yes this was my first attendance at the Special Event. I actually stumbled on it online late last year and I knew I had to be there. I love learning and I like to see what is going on out there, outside the bubble of my life and work here in Nigeria. The motivation to come all the way to San Diego also stems from my desire to connect and share with fellow industry players, and refresh for the new year. The trip has been very worthwhile and I am thankful I made the choice to come."

EW: What was the most valuable experience for you at TSE?

Lola: "Meeting and hearing from event veterans like Janet in some of the sessions, listening to other event professionals share their highs and lows, being able to relate with these experiences and take home additional knowledge on some more ways to adapt and improve. These were valuable for sure."

If you would like to learn more about Always On Point, please visit their website: www.alwaysonpointng.com

Thank you for reading!